Contents

Life

Metropolitan Philaret (Vassily Mikhailovich Drozdov) was born December 26, 1782, in Kolomna, a Moscow Province, into the family of a deacon who later became a priest.

From 1791, Vassily Drozdov studied in the Kolomna Seminary, where courses were taught in Latin.

From March of 1800, he studied in the Moscow Holy Trinity Theological Seminary, where he completed his degree on December 21, 1803. Upon graduating this seminary, he was assigned to his alma mater as a professor of Greek and Hebrew.

On November 16, 1808, V.M. Drozdov was tonsured a monk with the name Philaret after St Philaret the Merciful (December 1). In November 1808, Monk Philaret was ordained a hierodeacon, and on March 1, 1809, he was assigned as Dean of Students of the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary and professor of Philosophy at the St Petersburg Theological Academy.

On February 8, 1810, he received a bachelor's degree from the St Petersburg Theological Academy.

On July 8, 1811, Hieromonk Philaret was elevated to the rank of archimandrite, and on March 11, 1812, he was appointed rector at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy.

On March 27, 1812, he was made abbot of the Monastery of St. George in the Novgorod Diocese while also retaining his position as rector and professor of the Academy.

On August 13, 1814, Archimandrite Philaret was awarded a Doctorate in Theology for his collection of works. On August 30, 1814, Archimandrite Philaret was appointed as a member of the Commission on Theological Schools and in 1816, a member of the Russian Bible Society. In March 1816, he was made abbot of Novospassky Monastery in Moscow, again while retaining his position as rector and professor of the Academy.

On June 2, 1816, he became a member of the Committee on Legal Matters concerning Orthodox Clergymen; June 16, 1816, a member of the Council for a Merciful Society; March 3, 1817, a member of the Building Committee at St. Petersburg Theological Academy; and on April 7, 1817, a member of the Central Directorate of Schools.

On August 5, 1817, Archimandrite Philaret was elevated to the rank of Bishop of Revel, Vicar to the St Petersburg Diocese.

On September 21, 1818, he was chosen a full member of the Russian Academy.

On March 15, 1819, he was appointed Archbishop of Tver and member of the Most Holy Synod.

On September 26, 1820, he was appointed Archbishop of Yaroslavl and Rostov and on July 3, 1821, appointed Archbishop of Moscow.

On August 22, 1826, the Most Reverend Philaret became the Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, where he remained until his death.

As Metropolitan

As metropolitan, Philaret believed that it was his duty to educate and enlighten his flock about the Church's teachings and traditions. Therefore, he preached and wrote about how to live a Christian life, basing his words on the wisdom of the Holy Fathers. His 1823 catechism has been an influential book in Russia and in other countries for nearly two hundred years.

The reforms of Tsar Peter the Great had abolished the patriarchate and severely restricted the Church, placing many aspects of its life under governmental control. Metropolitan Philaret tried to regain some of the Church's freedom to administer its own affairs, regarding Church and State as two separate entities working in harmony. Not everyone shared his views, and he certainly made his share of enemies. Still, he did achieve some degree of success in effecting changes.

The Holy Hierarch made a direct, creative and decisive organizational contribution to the accomplishment of the Synodal translation of the Bible into Russian from Slavonic.